The Trance Siberian Railway The Trance Siberian Railway

The Trance Siberian Railway

 The Trans Siberian Railway:

Trans-Siberian railway (usually called TransSib in Russia) is the world's longest and the most famous train route that goes through Russia. It crosses the whole continent, starts in Moscow, passes through the European Russia, crosses Urals mountains (which separate Europe and Asia), continues into Siberia's taiga and steppes, and finishes in Vladivostok — the Russian Far East coast on the Pacific Ocean. 
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The Trans-Siberian is an immense route: along more than 9000 kilometers of its length you will see different landscapes, meet many different people and cultures (especially, if you hop off the train at few points), experience magnificient Siberian Baikal lake, and just enjoy the trip in the train.

The original Russian name for this railway is "The Great Siberian Way", the name "Trans-Siberian" was given to this route by the West, and became very wide-spread.
This railway is the backbone of Russia. It is the only overland route going through the whole country. This unique status makes the railway still quite important for the economy and safety of the country, as it was supposed to be more than 100 years ago, when it was built.

It takes more than six days to travel along the whole Trans-Siberian, so it is recommended to make stopovers along the way — like this your trip will be much more interesting also.
After crossing Siberia (soon after Irkutsk) the Trans-Siberian route divides into three different routes:
• The Trans-Siberian Route: Moscow - Vladivostok – the original Trans-Siberian railway, which goes all along Siberia and through the Far East (to the Pacific Ocean).
• The Trans-Mongolian Route: Moscow - Ulan-Bataar - Beijing. You will see Siberian plains and forests, Mongolian steppe and even a part of Gobi desert along this route that goes through Mongolia to China.
• The Trans-Manchurian Route: Moscow - Beijing – a direct way from Russia to China that goes around the Eastern border of Mongolia, not crossing it. It can be interesting for those, who are not interested in going to Mongolia, or who can't get tickets for other trains


History of the Trans-Siberian:
Trans-Siberian railway was constructed during 1891-1916 to protect Russian Pacific ocean territories, Russians call these territories "Dalniy Vostok" (Far East). 
The main route St.Petersburg – Vladivostok was already completed at 1903, but there were many temporary constructions, so for 13 more years the permanent bridges, tunnels and stations were added.
The construction started 19th of May 1891 and it was finished 5th of 

October 1916, when the bridge across Amur river started to operate.
There was no steady connection between European Russia and its Asian areas. Meanwhile Japan, China and England wanted Asian territories to be out of Russian control and Russia had to make it secured. This was the main reason to construct the railway. However, ultimately, the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway let Russia to develop Siberia and Pacific shore. 
Nowadays Trans-Siberian is still very important for Russia; the route is the shortest way between Europe and Asia, and Russia is making money by transporting goods from China and Japan to Europe.

TransSib Facts:
• The length of the main route is 9288,2 km.
• The largest bridge is above Amur river – 2612 meters (made in 1999).
• The longest tunnel starts at 8140 km, and is 2 km long. 
• There is a unique building at the 5311 km – Sludyanka station building made from marble.
• The Trans-Siberian route crosses 10 time zones
• It goes through Europe (19%) and Asia (81%). The border is marked with small obelisk at 1778 km near town Pervouralsk.
• The Trans-Siberian passes by 87 cities and towns on the way
• The route crosses 16 big rivers: Volga, Ob, Enisey, Oka, Amur, and others.
• The Trans-Siberian passes Biakal lake, 207 km of the way are going along the bank of the lake.
• The Trans-Siberian passes the sea of Japan, 39 km of the way are going along the bank of sea of Japan.

Sea Of Marmara - SOME IMPORTANT FACTS

FACTS - SEA OF MARMARA

Sea Of Marmara - SOME IMPORTANT FACTS

The Sea of Marmara, a northeastern extension of the Mediterranean Sea, separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey (Trace), thus it separates the two continents.

Bordered completely by Turkey, it connects to the Aegean Sea via the Dardanelles Strait, and to the Black Sea through the Bosporus Strait.

This (somewhat salty) body of water serves as a primary highway for the transport of energy to Europe from Russia and western Asia. In 2005 over 55,000 ships, including almost 6,000 oil tankers passed through it, most carrying Russian oil.

It contains two island groups; the Marmara in the southwest and the Princes' in the northeast. On the small island of Imrali stands a maximum-security prison that holds just a few prisoners, including Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of PKK, a Kurdish terrorist group. 

PANAMA CANAL- A GLANCE

PANAMA CANAL- A GLANCE 

The 48 mile-long (77 km) international waterway known as the Panama Canal allows ships to pass 

between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, saving about 8000 miles (12,875 km) from a journey around the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn.

History -

From 1819, Panama was part of the federation and country of Colombia but when Colombia rejected United States plans to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, the U.S. supported a revolution that led to the independence of Panama in 1903.

The new Panamanian government authorized French businessman Philippe Bunau-Varilla, to negotiate a treaty with the United States. The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty allowed the U.S. to build the Panama Canal and provided for perpetual control of a zone five-miles wide on either side of the canal.

Although the French had attempted construction of a canal in the 1880s, the Panama Canal was successfully built from 1904 to 1914. Once the canal was complete the U.S. held a swath of land running the approximately 50 miles across the isthmus of Panama.

The division of the country of Panama into two parts by the U.S. territory of the Canal Zone caused tension throughout the twentieth century. Additionally, the self-contained Canal Zone (the official name for the U.S. territory in Panama) contributed little to the Panamanian economy. The residents of the Canal Zone were primarily U.S. citizens and West Indians who worked in the Zone and on the canal.

Anger flared in the 1960s and led to anti-American riots. The U.S. and Panamanian governments began to work together to solve the territorial issue. In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty which agreed to return 60% of the Canal Zone to Panama in 1979. The canal and remaining territory, known as the Canal Area, was returned to Panama at noon (local Panama time) on December 31, 1999.

Additionally, from 1979 to 1999, a bi-national transitional Panama Canal Commission ran the canal, with an American leader for the first decade and a Panamanian administrator for the second. The transition at the end of 1999 was very smooth, for over 90% of the canal employees were Panamanian by 1996.

The 1977 treaty established the canal as a neutral international waterway and even in times of war any vessel is guaranteed safe passage. After the 1999 hand-over, the U.S. and Panama jointly shared duties in defending the canal.

Operation of the Panama Canal

The canal makes the trip from the east coast to the west coast of the U.S. much shorter than the route taken around the tip of South America prior to 1914. Though traffic continues to increase through the canal, many oil supertankers and military battleships and aircraft carriers can not fit through the canal. There's even a class of ships known as "Panamax," those built to the maximum capacity of the Panama canal and its locks.

It takes approximately fifteen hours to traverse the canal through its three sets of locks (about half the time is spent waiting due to traffic). Ships passing through the canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean actually move from the northwest to the southeast, due to the east-west orientation of the Isthmus of Panama.

Panama Canal Expansion

In September, 2007 work began on a $5.2 billion project to expand the Panama Canal. Expected to be complete in 2014, the Panama Canal expansion project will allow ships double the size of current Panamax to pass through the canal, dramatically increasing the amount of goods that can pass through the canal.

Tropics and Climate Zones

Tropics and Climate Zones

If we go 23 1/2 north of the Equator we encounter a special dashed parallel called the Tropic of Cancer; if we go the same distance south we see its companion the Tropic of Capricorn. The former is at the latitude at which the Sun passes directly overhead on the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, while the latter is where the Sun passes overhead on the first day of Southern Hemisphere summer (or Northern Hemisphere Winter); these evens occur, respectively, about June 22nd and December 22nd.

The portion of the Earth between the two "tropics" is called the Torrid Zone - the region of perpetual summer. Also, within the Torrid Zone, and nowhere else on Earth, the Sun appears overhead at least once per year; at these circles it does occur once, but at locations between them the Sun passes overhead twice each year.

Look now 23 1/2 from the North Pole and you'll see another dashed parallel labeled the Arctic Circle, and the same distance from the South Pole we have its southern companion, the Antarctic Circle. The area between these circles and the poles constitute the Frigid Zones, or we might say the region of perpetual winter. Between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer is the North Temperate Zone, and its southern companion, the South Temperate Zone lies between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. These Zones, which are each larger than the previously mentioned ones are -- as their name implies -- where the climate is temperate and where most of the Earth's people prefer to live. Here is also where we have the yearly cycle of four seasons, except that a particular season occurs a half-year apart in the Northern and Southern Temperate Zones because of the 23 1/2 tilt of our Earth as it travels it's orbit around the Sun.

The Frigid Zones are also "The Land of the Midnight Sun" because in this area the Sun never sets during some portion of the year: a day or so along the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, and an entire six months at the poles. Between these circles and the poles, the period in which the Sun does not set varies according the latitude; the closer to the pole we go the longer it is. Similarly, there is a corresponding period each year when the Sun doesn't rise in the Frigid Zones, and this period again increases as we go closer to the poles.

The Planet Earth ...The Day/Night Globe

Have you ever wanted to actually see how Alaska experiences complete days in darkness or daylight?  Have you ever wondered why the International Dateline has such significance in the business world?  The National Geographic Planet Earth can answer these questions and many more.  With the light off the globe shows the political map of the world.  When the light is on, it shows the physical features of the world - but that's not all.  This unique educational tool also shows day and nighttime for any time, date, and location in the world throughout the four seasons.  It can be manually adjusted both forward and backward to see past, present, and future hours of daylight and darkness for easy demonstration and understanding.  A pinpoint light shows the actual location of the sun throughout the year.  Unique "twilight rings" depict the three zones of dawn and dusk.  Superb design and engineering, combined with the expert cartography of National Geographic, creates a learning tool that is fun and easy to use.  The base is plastic, with a matte brass finish.  Comes complete with a detailed instruction booklet and Certificate of Authenticity.

Please note: All Illuminated globes have an electrical cord to power the internal light bulb.  The cord is hidden in the photo, but comes out of the base.